First Kills
by Tartarun
Summary: Asuma prepared. Kurenai plotted. Kakashi schemed. Gai planned. Their cute little genin wouldn't die. Not on their watch.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto but I wish I did

The Rookies were always a subject of gossip amongst the older shinobis. 7 clan children and heirs additionally created a lot of gossip, not that the proud Jonin deemed to call it gossip. They preferred the term elusive information collecting. Anko had laughed herself sick at this and had subsequently been invited to come up with a better name. What she came up with was not fit for any levels of society and Hayate still blushed when looking at a vase. Kakashi was a smug bastard of course with his Team 7; Kotetsu and Izumo had immediately called bullshit on his abridged tale to Wave and as his honour as a Jonin storyteller had been slighted they had spent hours coming up with wilder and wilder stories. The other Jonin-senseis had shaken their heads but were glad secretly that the laughter and ribbing made Kakashi lose his tension and relax, by shinobi standards of course, he could still draw a kunai and slit everyone's throat in a blink of an eye but it was still improvement.

Asuma had regaled them with tales of Shikamaru frantically trying to make Ino and Choji stick to his plan so he could go back to cloud watching in the laziest way possible. When asked later he said he found cutting holes in Choji's chip packet with his shadow a perfectly acceptable way for him to get off his ass and weed the garden to look for them. Those who knew the Akimichis and their sheer love for food had whistled and agreed the kid had some sheer balls. Where Shikamaru was a brilliant plan maker, Ino on the other hand seemed to be a brilliant plan destroyer. Shikamaru just couldn't plan around her, with her, excluding her because she would do something so unpredictable it would collapse around his ears. It wasn't a very well-known fact that it was Ino who rivalled Naruto for the title of most surprising ninja in Kohona. The Nara heir's tears of frustration had moved his sensei to crying fits of laughter and choking on his cigarettes.

Kurenai, wily woman she was, was proud of her team and made sure people knew it. Why she was proud was another matter entirely, she was a Genjutsu mistress and knew all too well the merits of information. She made the other shinobi cry tears of blood before allowing some small morsel of information slip past her fingers. Anko was spotted drunk off her mind moaning about little Genin bring mini Kurenais when they grew up. Who ever heard her went pale very fast and a project soon found its place on the Hokage's desk with a request to never give Team 8 emotion suppression training.

Gai was as loud as his jumpsuit. He was damn proud of his team and he had no shame, these two facts combined gave many a people headaches when hearing about his team's springtime of youth at full volume. How he got his voice to boom like that without use of Fuuton was anybody's guess. Kakashi had the unfortunate job of tuning him down as everyone had unanimously deadpanned that as his Eternal Rival he should have the honour. He still hadn't forgiven them for that.

So one day the subject turned to first kills. Ibiki gulped down his drink and slammed it on the table only to admit his first kill had been a messy job with a kunai through the skull of some bandit. Many people raised their glasses and took a shot seeing theirs was the same. Genma swirled his senbon and carefully bit out his had been an Iwa kunoichi wrapped up in ninja wire and explosive tags. Kakashi shot him an approving look and told him flatly Sasuke would come to him for lessons in ninja wire. While he spluttered about Anko took a deep swig and drove her dango stick deep into the table wood. Everybody unconsciously leaned back as she cheerfully told them how she made a man bleed to death by stabbing him in the femoral artery with a poisoned dango stick. Genma recovered enough to choke about him and impressionable genin. The Copy nin had snorted at that and told him if he managed to influence Sasuke at any way at all he'd buy everyone a round of drinks, he was notoriously stingy with his purse everyone knew. The consequence of his old team mate being a fan of silently killing targets with poisoned coins but no one needed to know that. No one especially needed to know how he the famous Copy Nin had been caught with several embarrassing poisons himself!

The talk turned to the Rookies and who had their first kill. Uchiha agreed Kotetsu and Genma. Aburame countered Izumo and Ibiki. Kurenai smirked at this and everyone held their breath for some teasing morsel….she just drank her beverage daintily. Uzumaki put in Gai playfully as everyone gave him incredulous looks. Everyone knew Gai's team was unblooded so they did not offer Hyuuga or Tenten, no one knew her last name either, since weapon mistresses generally had more kills than anyone. Asuma chortled and put forward Ino. Everyone swivelled their disbelieving eyes on him instead.

"Yamanaka! The fangirling kunoichi!" or variations could be heard around the room.

"She's well," Genma fumbled a bit, "Pathetic?"

"You want us to believe the girl who swoons over the Uchiha is blooded already?" Ibiki deadpanned, he was really good at that. People suspected he practised on his prisoners since they couldn't leak information of his mistakes.

Kurenai looked at him through blood red eyes intently. Asuma tried not to break out laughing.

"She's a Yamanaka." He said simply, "They specialise in the mind arts, Ino has the training to kill and carry on totally unaffected." It was a bit disconcerting to remember her throw a shuriken with enough force to rip through the neck and swoon over Sasuke as soon as she got back with those same hands. For all the Last Uchiha tried to act like an ideal of a ninja, it was Ino who had killed and walked away unaffected. "She's the person I worry least about in a fight, I know she can kill if it comes down to it. Okay her conduct outside a fight has to be worked on." He conceded.

Anko nodded in appreciation, "Perhaps I'll pay the little maggot a visit." She murmured, she grinned toothily, "I can show her a few tricks." Asuma flinched at that already regretting his decision to show off at having a cute little genin. He tried to imagine Ino in mesh and a leather coat licking blood off Choji's stunned face and found to his horror he could imagine such a scene easily.

Kurenai put down her glass. The clink drew everyone's attention to her. The Ice Queen of Konoha had information to give.

"Hinata has killed five bandits with well-placed Juken strikes." She whispered dabbing at her mouth as people burst into murmurs.

Kotetsu and Izumo cried out together, "Wait! The same stuttering red faced girl who hides behind that Inuzuka every time you leave?"

Anko blinked at her then turned to Kakashi, "Cyclops, has your kunoichi killed anyone yet? That'll be the whole Rookie set. I think the rookie males really need to get their act together."

Kakashi smirked, "Juken is easier to kill with, Hyuugas can kill with the lightest touch." Hinata even when not being considered good by her clan's standards was good enough to stop a heart beat in a second. "How's she dealing with it?"

Kurenai leaned back, "Surprisingly well, she doesn't have the Yamanaka mental training but she has the Hyuuga poise and mentality that shinobi are instruments of death. She walked up to me afterwards and asked that I not tell Kiba or Shino who killed them."

Genma snorted, "Because how many genin can kill without leaving a mark?"

She shrugged at him, "She's still a genin. She'll grow out of it."

Kakashi leant forward, "Sakura hasn't killed anybody yet…."he trailed off and as soon as most people began to look away he continued, "Naruto on the other hand."

Hayate choked on his drink. Gai bellowed about youthfulness triumphing and that Kakashi his eternal rival had won with the challenge of blooding his genin and that he'd- everybody tuned him out.

"Naruto!" Asuma asked somehow phrasing it as an exclamation. "Well guess it's the surprising ones you have to watch out for. What did he do?"

Anko was shaking her head in disbelief, "That brat has killed already, man the rookies have some pretty strong mental states if us older people didn't pick it up. Especially me since I'm amazing."

"Naruto…set up several traps and a Kumo nuke nin stumbled on to them. I'm trying to stop Naruto from marching over there at the destruction of his traps as the nin was obviously enjoying picking apart the 'baby traps'."

"And?" Kotetsu prodded.

Kakashi grinned, "The moment he touched a wire five different simultaneous traps sprung. He dodged them only to fall to another three traps with a time delay set off by the first traps hitting other hidden wires. He got sliced by kunai, wire, shuriken, explosive tags and finally a wire wrapped around his throat cutting it off." A proud glint entered his eye as he spoke of his student. "He takes his traps seriously."

Hayate laughed breaking the stunned silence, "Yuugao always complained of his traps after his pranks. Guess he put that practise to good use. You should take him to Ebisu, he specialises in capture doesn't he?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes he does, and when we got back I showed him how to conceal his wire more efficiently. I think Sasuke was in shock he wasn't the only person with skill in wire on the team. Naruto took it extremely well I didn't think that it had quite sunk in but I pulled him aside to have a chat with him."

People shook their heads. "Oh God Uzumaki's most similar to me with his first kill." Genma wailed suddenly, "This means I'm his go to shinobi on paper!" Ibiki chuckled, "No one actually bothers with those anymore. I'm more impressed with how a third of the rookies with four months training have killed already."

"In the third war first kills was much earlier." Kurenai pointed out. Kakashi nodded with her but put in, "I think we should reapply the war time standards to our cute genin." He said slowly.

Asuma raised an eyebrow then looked thoughtful, "Oto." It wasn't a question.

Anko sobered, "They're small but sharp." She warned, "Raiga and his team ran into a few of them. First impressions are brutal."

Izumo leaned forward, "Heard they're campaigning to make their leader the Otokage. That was my reaction too." He added at the sound of scoffs.

"If Taki, Ame and all the smaller villagers who have been around for longer don't have kage titles why should Oto?" Kotetsu said derisively. "The title of kage is near sacred. Ibiki? We know much about them?"

Ibiki shook his head slowly. People waited for him to elaborate. And waited…

"Classified people." He quipped finally taking a deep drink and calling for another. "I'll be happy to tell you in my new workstation." Genma shuddered.

Anko purred dangerously, "YOUR new workstation?" She leant forward like a cat.

"Our new workstation." Ibiki amended hastily. No one wanted to cross Anko. She smiled suddenly, "That's so much better."

People laughed and took their drinks. Kakashi's fingers itched to take out his beloved book and read but he learnt his lesson after last time when Kurenai had warped the words to run and drip off the page to form an ink snake to strike at his eyes. It was a testament to her skills that it had taken him several seconds to break it. Asuma picked up on his tension and sympathised with him. He too mourned the loss of his cigarettes as Kurenai hadn't even bothered with genjutsu and simply soaked the whole packet. While he could manipulate the air to dry them he was too scared to do it anywhere near the formidable woman, Kurenai of course picked this up. She smiled beatifically at them both. There was a reason she was Jonin after all. But the senseis hadn't forgotten Kakashi's statement and privately they all agreed with it.

Asuma made plans to stimulate interrogation and introduce capture into his training sessions. Shikamaru would complain but in his eyes he would understand why. His father was Jonin commander after all and he could deduce the reason. He'd push him into studying more of his clan techniques along with the other two. Ino would sigh and whine about her hair but she would look forward to it. Nearly her whole clan was in interrogation, Yamanakas lived and died by the statement Information is power. Choji wouldn't understand but he would know it was important judging from his team's reactions. His perception picked up from years around Shikamaru was brilliant at times. And he would support it fully. The three of them were fearsome together already, he needed to hone their taijutsu and stealth.

Kurenai pondered over individual training in her mind. Hinata, kind stuttering deadly Hinata would have to work on long range skills. Genjutsu would suit her superb chakra controls, she smirked, lucky she was a genjutsu specialist. A Hyuuga with the ability to warp your senses and shut down the body, her opponents would tremble. Shino needed to work on taijutsu and close range combat. His bugs made him a perfect long range support fighter, she'd get Gai to have a look at him. She felt a bit sorry for him but her students had to live, her children in everything but blood. She'd teach Lee how to dispel illusions even without chakra for that. Kiba, dear rash Kiba. He'd make them a force to be reckoned with. Not like Kakashi's possible juggernaut of a front line combat team, not like Gai's prodigal lightning response team, not even like Asuma's efficient oiled machine. Her team would weave in and out of combat, no one would know where they were, who they were or what they could do. Kiba would spot them, Shino would weaken them and darling Hinata would eliminate them. The perfect ambush squad.

Kakashi knew his team was flawed. Sasuke was too obsessed, Sakura too blind, Naruto too rash. But they all had serious potential, he'd been running them ragged in teamwork exercises. He was certain they'd manage to work together or remember his wrath. Lots and lots and lots of exploding tags, wrecked training fields and terrified genin came to mind. He smiled under his mask, his genin were so cute. He needed to develop them individually, Sasuke had potential, tremendous potential as a close range combatant. His Sharingan, Uchiha taijutsu, wire and Fire ninjutsu were excellent. He needed to work on awareness of the battlefield and restraint. If he rushed in obsessed for power he'd get hurt badly. He planned lots of lovely traps and tags in his mind to teach his student some semblance of caution. Sakura needed more body training and chakra pool increasing. Gai he decided reluctantly was the best person, in return he's teach the weapons mistress of his how to embed lightning chakra in her weapons. His mind turned to Naruto, the boy was a genius at traps and evasion. How many academy students could evade ANBU in bright orange? The bright orange was genius as well, he blended right in with the mountain as most of his pranks centred there. Naruto needed to work on foresight, information gathering and calming himself. He grinned openly. Oh he could have fun with this. He envisioned hiding all of his ramen packets all over Konoha in people's homes and the terrified screams of his genin as he got caught repeatedly before he improved.

Gai was silent uncharacteristically as he too thought over his genin. All of their individual styles were strong, Neji was a genius, Lee was like a son to him, and Tenten surprised them all despite their apparent superiority on paper. Teamwork was the priority here. Neji needed to get along with Lee and not just Tenten. Lee needed to get along with Neji and not just Tenten. Tenten…was just fine. He deduced Kurenai and Kakashi would approach him about training their genin and guessing for favours Lee and Tenten would benefit. If he asked Asuma to train Neji in wind style to supplement his chakra attacks and offered to train the kunoichi on their team? Perhaps he should take a page out of his eternal rival's book and blow up their training field several times to force them to use teamwork? He grinned, his teeth sparkling.

Asuma prepared.

Kurenai plotted.

Kakashi schemed.

Gai planned.

Their cute little genin wouldn't die. Not on their watch.


End file.
